Betting Picks

Even though several leagues are winding down, there is plenty of sports betting action to satisfy even the most crazed fan. Baseball is in full swing, and there is MLB betting available on a daily basis.  The NBA is close to the final series, while Stanley Cup betting is set between the surprising Philadelphia Flyers and the young Chicago Blackhawks.  Meanwhile, the World Cup nears and until then there is lots of soccer action right here in North America.

An inter-conference battle between two third place teams gets underway Saturday afternoon in Toronto as the TFC host the San Jose Earthquakes. Both teams have a chance to move into second place with a victory, but it is San Jose who occupies a tightly packed Western conference table. Real Salt Lake and Houston sit at second and fourth respectively with 16 points, and last place CHivas USA is only six back with 10 points.

San Jose has fared quite well at home, winning three of four games while drawing one. In those matches, the defense has allowed only three goals while the team musters seven scores.

After a shaky start to the season in which the Earthquakes lost three of four, they have responded with three victories and on draw and continue to move up the table. In fact, San Jose has not conceded a single goal in their previous four matches.

San Jose looks to continue their strong defense and netminding against a confident TFC team that has played well of late. While the Red Shirts have yet to concede a point at home, winning all four matches played in Toronto, they have struggled on the road.  Their only road point of the year came on their latest trip where they drew nil against Los Angeles. They returned home last week to edge New England 1-0, and have yet to lose in their last three matches.

TFC hopes that the road point earned against the Galaxy will spur them to play as well in San Jose. Prior to the draw, Los Angeles had not conceded a point at home all season.  Still, Toronto has had difficulty mustering offense away from home. In their five matches, they have scored all of three goals, while conceding 11.

They will look to get scoring from someone other than Dwayne DeRosario, who has half of the team’s 12 goals on the season. Chad Barrett has three. Yet if the defense continues to play well and Toronto can earn rare road points, they are poised to contend all year long.

Betting Lines: San Jose is the favourite at home and with good reason.  TFC has struggled on the road all year and has had trouble finding the back of the net lately. After scoring four against Chicago, they have scored just once in their last two matches. Still, the draw against the Galaxy surely gave them confidence playing on the road.  After traveling another 3,000 miles out to California, the Red Shirts will be demanding at least a point and they know they are capability of doing so. Look for them to draw San Jose in another low scoring match.